UniBond Premier

13th April 2005

Attendance - 275

Team - Campbell, Williams, Veart, Farthing, Nicholson, Gildea.A (sub: Robinson), McTiernan, Radigan, Gildea.L, Ormerod, Richards. Subs not used: Obern & Atkinson.

Report - by BJM - Whitby's chances of drawing level with Workington at the top of the league were washed away in a rain-soaked game this evening. Despite having the lion's share of possession & a late onslaught that resembled the Alamo, the Blues were given a lesson in clinical finishing by their mid-table opponents who arrived with only two substitutes to call upon.
The Seasiders looked lethargic during the opening half hour with passes going astray regularly but still managing to look the marginally better side. Indeed on the half hour Liam Gildea was inches away from opening the scoring when he slid in at the far post after McTiernan's pass found him free. Sadly the ball skidded harmlessly past Trueman's post. Four minutes later Whitby were caught well & truly napping when Adam Muller broke away upfield. He made it as far as the edge of the Whitby area & despite being confronted by two defenders he calmly slotted the ball inside the far post with Campbell unsighted.
The Whitby crowd were hoping that would have been a wake up call but the Blues pressure still amounted to very little by way of scoring opportunities. The best they managed for the rest of the half was an overhead kick from McTiernan which went wide & a last minute flick by Ormerod that was goalbound until Trueman flipped it over the bar.

The second half saw the Town press for the equaliser & 5 minutes in some good work by Ormerod & Liam Gildea resulted in his brother Alex volleying the ball wide of the mark. In the 54th minute Whitby again committed football suicide when Neil Radigan's pass was woefully short of Nicholson & for the second time in the game Muller latched onto the loose ball. His pace was a constant threat & his pass to Ryan was met by an equally fine finish when he placed it in the bottom left corner of Campbell's goal.
With an hour gone Whitby went close once more after Ormerod, who worked his socks off for the full 94 minutes, ran across field to feed the ball into Richards' feet. The winger struck the ball first time only to see it bounce off the bar with Trueman well beaten. Whitby finally looked more purposeful when Robinson came into play with 15 minutes remaining. Liam Gildea's shot dipped just over the crossbar & 8 minutes later Robbo was on the end of a quick surge upfield after Campbell denied Emley a third. The midfielder was in the right spot to slam the ball home to make it 1-2. Whitby kept up the pressure to the very end but Emley managed to hold on to all three points to frustrate the Blues.